By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to resign as state president in the next couple of hours following an independent report into his conduct at Phala Phala.
Ramaphosa will also resign as president of the ANC and will pull out of the race to be re-elected at Nasrec.
The meeting of Ramaphosa’s supporters was called by Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele. Two NEC members who are close to Ramaphosa expressed concern that the president may opt to resign — a replay of what happened in June when the scandal over the game-farm theft first erupted and he took advice on whether or not he should quit.
Under party rules, members facing criminal charges must step aside from their roles to allow legal processes to unfold. While Ramaphosa hasn’t been charged — and on Wednesday reiterated his denial of any wrongdoing — there may be instances in which the party’s integrity body may ask officials facing allegations of wrongdoing to step down, Treasurer-General Paul Mashatile said in an interview on Tuesday.
“If there are serious allegations against you that bring the ANC into disrepute, you should approach the integrity commission,” Mashatile said. “The commission may well say: ‘Yes you are not charged, but we think the allegations against you are so damaging that you should step aside.’ Once they say so, you should, even if you are not charged.”
Ramaphosa previously faced calls to step aside over the farm scandal at an NEC meeting last month.
Beyond Thursday’s NEC meeting, parliament is scheduled to debate the panel’s findings on December 6, and the ANC will have to decide whether to block its adoption. If it’s accepted, a panel of lawmakers will be established to investigate the president’s conduct and it could take months, or even years to complete its work.
Meanwhile Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya has told radio 702’s Mandy Wiener that Ramaphosa will address the nation on the Phala Phala matter.
He said an announcement was “imminent” although there was no time given. Ramaphosa wants to give the country “a clear sense of direction” on the way forward after the release of the Phala Phala report, Magwenya said.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) meanwhile has announced that it will table a motion in Parliament for a vote on the dissolution of the government, which may result in an early election.
“I will table this motion in the National Assembly, and I will call on all members of the House, regardless of party or affiliation, to support it so that we can urgently close this chapter of corruption and get back to dealing with our country’s many challenges,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen in a media briefing on Thursday.
Steenhuisen said it was “clear and unambiguous that Ramaphosa most likely did breach several constitutional provisions and had a case to answer”, adding that the ANC must not determine who becomes president.